Michael Altavilla DiMaggio
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| My Dad had bought my brother a set of Lionel trains, actually two sets,
a freight train and a passenger train. They were set up on a table in our
basement at 229 Merritt Ave. in Bergenfield, where I grew up. When I was
about 8 years old, I took over the trains. I spent a lot of time setting
them up and rearranging the layout. I slowly added to the train set, purchasing
more track, switch tracks, buildings and accessories. |
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My Dad, seeing how much time I spent with them increased the size of
the table, to about 8 feet by 12 feet. I loved the added space.
I learned about electricity from the trains, I liked making them run automatically.
When the freight train would pull into a siding, the passenger train
would start up automatically. I had all these potter-bloomfield relays
my dad had gotten for me. I could use the relays to start and stop
the trains. Soon the trains and all my other 'stuff' was taking over the
basement.
We had a wine cellar in the house, a large room under the house with
a dirt floor. My Grandfather used to make wine there. It always had
the smell of red wine. My Dad dough out the floor and poured a concrete
floor. Then he fixed the walls and put in a few lights for me. That
was to be my room and the trains moved in. |
I spend many years in there setting up the trains, and learning about
how to plan things. So many times I would start a layout and not have the
parts to Finish it. So I learned to draw it out first and make a list of
what I needed. I often brought my Mom down to watch the trains run.
And although I brought my friends down to watch them run, my Mom was always
my best audience. My Dad was never satisfied. He always told me how
I could have done it better or use a different trick to make some effect
happen. It bothered me then, but I know now, it was his way of pushing
me to try new things and learn more. And I did.
Years later as a father myself, we moved to Oklahoma. In came
the computer age, and I was still playing with trains. I had a comadore64
that I hooked up to run the trains. You could make them go, stop, set the
speed and blow the whistle from the keyboard. I was invited to set
it up in the local mall where it ran for a week. I watched a lot of smiles
that week. Some young looking at the trains, some old looking at the computor.
To this day, trains, both real and model, hold a mystique for
me. I still enjoy them.
Joseph DiMaggio
2008
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